(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Practicing good oral hygiene may leave pregnant
women with more than a pretty smile. A new study has uncovered a link between
periodontal (gum) disease and gestational diabetes.
A team of researchers at New York University followed a group of 256 women
through the first six months of their pregnancy. Over the course of those six
months, 22 women developed gestational diabetes -- all of which had
significantly higher levels of periodontal bacteria and inflammation than other
women in the study.
"In addition to its potential role in preterm delivery, evidence that gum
disease may also contribute to gestational diabetes suggests that women should
see a dentist if they plan to get pregnant, and after becoming pregnant," Ananda
Dasanayake, Ph.D., the study's lead author and professor of epidemiology and
health promotion at NYU College of Dentistry, was quoted as saying.
Researchers believe the inflammation interferes with normal insulin functioning
triggering gestational diabetes onset. Gestational diabetes typically subsides
once the pregnancy ends, however it does leave women at risk for developing type
2 diabetes later in life.
Hispanics, Asians and Native Americans are at the highest risk for developing
gestational diabetes.
SOURCE: Journal of Dental Research, published online March 24, 2008
